DACA Deadline Day. (Beltway Buzz - March 9, 2018)

The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what's happening in Washington, D.C. could impact your business.

DACA Deadline Day. To the surprise of almost no one, March 5 has come and gone, and Congress did not reach a deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) issue. This Congress has enough trouble agreeing on anything, so with the deadline effectively mooted by a federal court injunction that preserves the program, the failure to produce a legislative solution was a fait accompli. Moreover, it appears that both chambers have moved on from DACA, as the issue was not an agenda item in either the Senate or House this week (though Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) tried unsuccessfully to garner support for his "three-for-three" bill—a three-year extension of the DACA program in exchange for three years of funding for border security. What ultimately happens with the DACA issue and how it may impact other areas of immigration policy remain to be seen.

Joint-Employer Developments. The fallout continued this week from the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) recent surprising return to the flawed and impracticable joint-employer standard set forth in Browning-Ferris Industries. The Wall Street Journal smells something fishy, referring to the hyper-political inspector general report that set this situation in motion as an inside job inappropriately orchestrated by senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Speaking for the administration, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney criticized the substance of the Browning-Ferris standard, saying that it could "end the franchising business as we know it." But perhaps those who are hoping to shut down the Board may soon regret poking the bear: the current turmoil has reenergized business groups' push for a legislative fix to the joint-employer problem, and a policy rider is said to be in the mix for potential inclusion in an omnibus funding package slated for the end of the month.

Ring Vote Delayed. NLRB nominee John Ring's path to Senate confirmation took a detour this week. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee was supposed to vote on Ring's nomination on March 7, thereby advancing him to the Senate floor, but this vote was postponed twice. The Senate HELP Committee vote on Ring's nomination is now scheduled for the evening of March 12.

Acosta Speaks...